1,200 People Picked Up 5,700 Pounds Of Garbage From Broward's Beaches.

Volunteers at Hollywood Beach picked up 450 pounds of practically nothing Saturday morning as part of the 18th annual International Coastal Cleanup.

"You'd think it's nothing, but it adds up," said Jennifer Hartwig, education program director and marine biologist with the National Save the Sea Turtle Foundation, one of the co-sponsors of the cleanup effort (along with the Broward County Department of Planning and Environmental Protection and Ocean Watch).

Hundreds of volunteers gathered along the 22 miles of coast from Hallandale Beach to Deerfield Beach throughout the morning Saturday, their skin protected by sunscreen and their hands protected by gloves as they picked up after beachgoers who absent-mindedly or inconsiderately cast their litter in the sand instead of in the trash.

Members of Broward County Girl Scout Troop 259 accounted for 33 pounds of the trash collected along Hollywood Beach. But they planned on keeping some of it for an art collage they'll display at the Broward County Fair.

"We call it `Recycle the Junk,'" said troop leader Nancy Rovin. "We're keeping six pounds to create a collage of trashy treasures."

Troop member Natalie Saenz, 11, said she never leaves garbage behind when she goes to the beach with her family, but after seeing what others do, she's become more sensitive to the issue.

"There was a watch, an ink cartridge, a lot of straws," said Natalie, a fifth-grader at Everglades Elementary School in Weston.

The ink cartridge was one of the more inexplicable finds. One troop member found a pair of shorts. Another volunteer (not a troop member) found someone's underwear. In Dania Beach, volunteers found a safe they turned over to the Broward Sheriff's Office, and in Hallandale someone picked up a 20-gallon pickle jar.

Other finds across the county included a set of dentures, a shotgun and a telephone.

The international nonprofit group Ocean Conservancy coordinated cleanup efforts Saturday in more than 100 countries.

Volunteers gathered at 12 sites along Broward County's coastline. By the end of the day, organizers said 1,203 volunteers collected 5,718 pounds of trash pulled out of the sand and placed into garbage bags where they belong.

Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4207.